The importance of Owner Participants being involved in key alliance positions and having the necessary skills and experience is often underestimated. The number of Owner resources, and the skills and experience level of those resources, will significantly influence whether VfM is achieved in the project delivery phase. They will bring to the alliance a critical understanding of the Owner's business values and wider corporate environment and network systems.
The complex commercial relationships which operate within an alliance demand that key Owner Participants (e.g. Owner's members on ALT, AMT and other senior project roles) collectively have the same level of capability as the NOPs, in each of the key project delivery disciplines. A distinction should be made between Owner Participants having actual project delivery experience with alliances, and having experience with performing manager/supervisor roles under traditional project delivery models. Owner participation is necessary to provide reasonable coverage of the key disciplines which will impact on whether VfM is achieved, including design and construction, procurement, commercial and project management and project controls.
The Owner Participants also need to take a pro-active approach to determining alliance resource needs and selecting the right candidates for key alliance positions. This requires sufficient experience to determine the suitability and ongoing performance of alliance resources, and to initiate corrective action when insufficient or inadequate resources are identified.